HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT US Bank opened in Smith's Food and Drug on Jan. 26, in the former location of Nevada State Bank. The staff, left to right, are Mark Clark, Emily Edlen, Harry Means, Kiley Cockett and branch manager Steve Balint. US Bank is open seven days a week. Advertisement

The location is the same and the facade is much the same as well, but on closer inspection the faces have changed and so has the name.

Gone is the old Nevada State Bank location in Smith's Food and Drug on Highway 160. In its place is a full-service banking institution priding itself on convenient locations.

US Bank purchased the location from Zions Bank and opened Jan. 26 with only two days closure during the transition.

Branch manager Steve Balint said because of the short downtime, some of the old Nevada State Bank customers have been confused, insisting the new bank was the old bank and unable to understand why their financial transactions weren't acceptable.

"We still have people who haven't noticed the change and don't until it's pointed out to them," he said.

The public will usually find branches of US Bank located for convenience. It has a reputation for locating inside grocery chains. In fact, the locations are part of the motto.

Balint laughed and said, "We care so much about our customers, we put a grocery store in the lobby."

He seems to have fun with the new job. Balint has spent 16 years in finance as a consultant and says he enjoys working with numbers. His personality comes through to the public in this location as well.

He spends time in the mornings passing out brochures to grocery shoppers, answering questions and getting on the public address system to ask those shoppers if they have "hugged their banker today."

On a more serious note, Balint thinks US Bank is a good opportunity to prove the convenience of having a financial institution in a store front.

"We are full-service banking here," he said. "We make loans on homes and cars, have free checking, set up business accounts, offer lines of credit and credit solutions.

"The only thing we don't offer is safety deposit boxes."

US Bank offers something else -- lobby hours seven days a week.

He said the primary concern is customer service. "Our business depends on satisfied customers -- one day at a time, one customer at a time," he said. "We pride ourselves on five-star service. We will do everything we can to make your experience with us as simple and smooth as possible."

The financial institution is stable and didn't get wrapped up in the sub-prime mortgage market which has creating nightmares for some.

The bank is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Call 751-3100 for more information.